Secondary battery

ABSTRACT

A secondary battery with an exterior body having a novel sealing structure, and a structure of a sealing portion that relaxes a stress of deformation are provided. The secondary battery includes a positive electrode, a negative electrode, an electrolyte solution, and an exterior body enclosing at least part of the positive electrode, at least part of the negative electrode, and the electrolyte solution. The exterior body includes a first region having a shape with a curve, a shape with a wavy line, a shape with an arc, or a shape with a plurality of inflection points, and a second region having the same shape as the first region. The first region is in contact with the second region. Alternatively, the first region has a shape without a straight line. The secondary battery may be flexible, and the exterior body in a region having flexibility may include the first region.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

One embodiment of the present invention relates to a secondary battery.

Note that one embodiment of the present invention is not limited to theabove technical field. The technical field of one embodiment of theinvention disclosed in this specification and the like relates to anobject, a method, or a manufacturing method. In addition, one embodimentof the present invention relates to a process, a machine, manufacture,or a composition of matter. Specifically, examples of the technicalfield of one embodiment of the present invention disclosed in thisspecification include a semiconductor device, a display device, a liquidcrystal display device, a light-emitting device, a lighting device, apower storage device, a storage device, a method for driving any ofthem, and a method for manufacturing any of them.

2. Description of the Related Art

In recent years, a variety of power storage devices, for example,secondary batteries such as lithium-ion secondary batteries, lithium-ioncapacitors, air batteries, and fuel batteries have been activelydeveloped (Patent Documents 1 to 4). In particular, with the developmentof the semiconductor industry and with the growing demand for energysaving, the uses of lithium-ion secondary batteries with high output andhigh energy density have rapidly expand to include, for example,portable information terminals such as cellular phones, smartphones, andlaptop personal computers; electric devices such as portable musicplayers and digital cameras; medical equipment; next-generation cleanenergy vehicles such as hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), electricvehicles (EVs), and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs); stationarypower storage devices; and the like. The lithium-ion secondary batteriesare essential for today's information society. Furthermore, with thegrowing expectations for flexible devices or wearable devices in recentyears, development of lithium-ion secondary batteries that haveflexibility to be deformed following deformation of devices, i.e.,flexible lithium-ion secondary batteries is urgently necessary.

A lithium-ion secondary battery, which is a nonaqueous secondarybattery, includes a positive electrode, a negative electrode, aseparator, a nonaqueous electrolyte solution, and an exterior bodycovering these components. In lithium-ion secondary batteries, positiveelectrodes and negative electrodes are generally used; the positiveelectrodes each include a positive electrode current collector made ofaluminum or the like and a positive electrode mix which includes apositive electrode active material capable of occluding and releasinglithium ions and which is applied to each surface of the positiveelectrode current collector, and the negative electrodes each include anegative electrode current collector made of copper or the like and anegative electrode mix which includes a negative electrode activematerial capable of occluding and releasing lithium ions and which isapplied to each surface of the negative electrode current collector.These positive and negative electrodes are insulated from each other bya separator provided therebetween, and the positive electrode and thenegative electrode are electrically connected to a positive electrodeterminal and a negative electrode terminal, respectively, which areprovided on the exterior body. The exterior body has a certain shapesuch as a cylindrical shape or a rectangular shape.

REFERENCES Patent Document

-   [Patent Document 1] PCT International Publication No. WO2012/165358-   [Patent Document 2] United States Patent Application Publication No.    2012/0002349-   [Patent Document 3] Japanese Published Patent Application No.    2013-211262-   [Patent Document 4] Japanese Published Patent Application No.    2013-191548

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A flexible lithium-ion secondary battery, which is a flat secondarybattery, for example, can be obtained when its components such aselectrodes, active materials, a separator, and an exterior body areflexible and have a function of being deformed in response to anexternal force. In addition to general properties such as high capacityand less degradation by repeated charge and discharge that are requiredfor secondary batteries, mechanical strength to endure repeateddeformation is an important property required for flexible lithium-ionsecondary batteries.

A prototype flexible lithium-ion secondary battery was subjected to arepeated deformation test to find that damages accumulate around asealing portion at the outer edge of an exterior body that holdscomponents and an electrolyte solution of the battery, as the number ofrepetitions of deformation increases, which caused breakage of thesealing structure or the exterior body and entry of air into thesecondary battery.

In order for a secondary battery to have flexibility, its exterior bodyalso needs to be formed of a material that can be deformed. For theexterior body of a flexible secondary battery, a sheet formed bylaminating a polymer film and a metal sheet such as aluminum is used.Electrode current collectors, active materials, a separator and the likeare sandwiched by the sheet, and the outer edge of the sheet is sealedby heat fusion bonding or other methods, whereby a flexible secondarybattery is formed. Note that the shape of a sealing portion of anexterior body is conventionally linear in consideration of the cost andease of sealing. Here, a sealing portion of an exterior body refers to aportion where two exterior bodies or two regions of an exterior body areadhered to each other by heat fusion bonding or other methods.Furthermore, unless otherwise specified, the shape of a sealing portionof an exterior body refers to the shape of the sealing portion of theexterior body viewed from directly above the flat surface of thesheet-like exterior body, not the shape of the sealing portion of theexterior body in the cross-section of the secondary battery, in thisspecification.

In the repeated deformation test of a secondary battery, a stress ofdeformation is found to concentrate in the sealing portion of theexterior body in a deformed region. In a case where a secondary battery(sandwiched by two exterior bodies) is bent with a certain axis as thecenter of curvature, for example, a compressive stress is applied to anexterior body closer to the axis because the radius of curvature isrelatively small, and a tensile stress is applied to the other exteriorbody farther from the axis because the radius of curvature is relativelylarge. The sealing portion near the axis corresponds to a portion wherethe exterior body subjected to a compressive stress and the exteriorbody subjected to a tensile stress are bonded to each other.

Since the conventional sealing portion is linear as described above, theconcentrated stress of deformation cannot be relaxed. Thus, a burden tothe exterior bodies in and around the sealing portion leads to fatigueaccumulation, resulting in breakage of the exterior bodies, which causesleakage of the electrolyte solution and entry of air into the secondarybattery. Entry of air into the secondary battery is a significant safetyproblem because it not merely deprives the secondary battery of itsfunctions as a battery, but may cause heat generation and ignition.

Furthermore, breakage of the exterior bodies occurs particularly aroundthe boundary between the sealing portion and the inner portion of thesecondary battery. Specifically, flexibility in deformation isrelatively low in the sealing portion where two exterior body sheets areadhered to each other by heat fusion bonding or the like, whereasflexibility in deformation is relatively high in the inner portion wherethe two exterior body sheets are not fixed to each other. Theabove-mentioned boundary corresponds to the boundary between the tworegions with different deformation conditions, and a stress is morelikely to concentrate there. Thus, the exterior bodies are likely to bebroken there.

In view of the above problems, an object of one embodiment of thepresent invention is to provide a flexible secondary battery with astructure of a sealing portion that can relax a stress of deformation.Another object is to provide a flexible secondary battery with a sealingstructure that can endure change in shape. Another object is to ensurethe safety of a flexible secondary battery.

Another object of one embodiment of the present invention is to providea lithium-ion secondary battery with an exterior body having a novelsealing structure. Another object of one embodiment of the presentinvention is to provide a novel secondary battery, a novel power storagedevice, or the like.

Another object of one embodiment of the present invention is to providea secondary battery having a function of changing in shape, i.e., aflexible secondary battery.

Note that the descriptions of these objects do not disturb the existenceof other objects. In one embodiment of the present invention, there isno need to achieve all the objects. Other objects will be apparent fromand can be derived from the description of the specification, thedrawings, the claims, and the like.

One embodiment of the invention disclosed in this specification is asecondary battery that includes a positive electrode, a negativeelectrode, an electrolyte solution, and an exterior body that surroundsat least part of the positive electrode, at least part of the negativeelectrode, and the electrolyte solution. The exterior body includes afirst region having a curved shape, a wavy line shape, an arc shape, ora shape with a plurality of inflection points, and a second regionhaving the same shape as the first region. The first region and thesecond region are in contact with each other.

Another embodiment of the invention disclosed in this specification is asecondary battery that includes a positive electrode, a negativeelectrode, an electrolyte solution, and an exterior body that enclosesat least part of the positive electrode, at least part of the negativeelectrode, and the electrolyte solution. The exterior body includes afirst region having a shape without a straight line and a second regionhaving the same shape as the first region. The first region and thesecond region are in contact with each other.

Another embodiment of the invention disclosed in this specification is asecondary battery that includes a positive electrode, a negativeelectrode, an electrolyte solution, and an exterior body that enclosesat least part of the positive electrode, at least part of the negativeelectrode, and the electrolyte solution. The exterior body includes asealing portion having a shape with a curve, a shape with a wavy line, ashape with an arc, or a shape with a plurality of inflection points.

Another embodiment of the invention disclosed in this specification is asecondary battery that includes a positive electrode, a negativeelectrode, an electrolyte solution, and an exterior body that enclosesat least part of the positive electrode, at least part of the negativeelectrode, and the electrolyte solution. The exterior body includes asealing portion having a shape without a straight line.

The secondary battery may be flexible.

Another embodiment of the invention disclosed in this specification is aflexible secondary battery that includes a positive electrode, anegative electrode, an electrolyte solution, and an exterior body thatencloses at least part of the positive electrode, at least part of thenegative electrode, and the electrolyte solution. The exterior bodyincludes a first region having a shape with a curve, a shape with a wavyline, a shape with an arc, or a shape with a plurality of inflectionpoints, and a second region having the same shape as the first region.The first region and the second region are in contact with each other.The exterior body in a region of the flexible secondary battery, theregion having a function of changing in shape, includes the firstregion.

Another embodiment of the invention disclosed in this specification is aflexible secondary battery that includes a positive electrode, anegative electrode, an electrolyte solution, and an exterior body thatencloses at least part of the positive electrode, at least part of thenegative electrode, and the electrolyte solution. The exterior bodyincludes a first region having a shape without a straight line and asecond region having the same shape as the first region. The firstregion and the second region are in contact with each other. Theexterior body in a region of the flexible secondary battery, the regionhaving a function of changing in shape, includes the first region.

In a flexible secondary battery, a sealing portion 100 of an exteriorbody 103 has a shape with a curve, a shape with a wavy line, a shapewith an arch, or a shape with a plurality of inflection points, insteadof a linear shape (see FIGS. 1A and 1B). With such a structure, when astress of deformation is applied to a portion 101 of the sealing portionof the exterior body 103, the area of the sealing portion, which issubjected to the stress, can be larger than that of a sealing portionhaving a linear shape (see FIG. 1C). Specifically, when a secondarybattery with an exterior body having a linear sealing portion and asecondary battery with an exterior body having a wavy sealing portionare deformed in the same way to be subjected to the same stress, for acomparison purpose, the area subjected to the stress in the wavy sealingportion is larger than that in the linear sealing portion.

Accordingly, the wavy sealing portion can disperse and relax the stress,reducing the intensity of a stress per unit area of the sealing portionof the exterior body. Thus, the secondary battery's resistance todeformation improves, whereby a secondary battery that can endurerepeated deformation can be obtained.

In addition, in a case where a sealing portion does not have a linearshape, the area of that sealing portion is larger than a case where asealing portion with the same width has a linear shape, which leads tostronger sealing. Accordingly, usage of the non-linear sealing portionin a secondary battery that is not flexible also has an advantage oflong-term reliability.

Note that two or more of a shape with a curve, a shape with a wavy line,a shape with an arc, and a shape with a plurality of inflection pointscan be used in combination, or any of these shapes can be combined witha linear shape. A secondary battery that is partly flexible may employ astructure where a sealing portion has a shape with a curve, a shape witha wavy line, a shape with an arc, or a shape with a plurality ofinflection points in a region having a function of changing in shape,and has a linear shape in the other region. Partly including the linearshape can save the cost and trouble of the sealing process, whileenjoying the effects of one embodiment of the invention.

An exterior body of a flexible secondary battery of one embodiment ofthe present invention can be deformed with a radius of curvature of 10mm or more, preferably with a radius of curvature of 30 mm or more. Anexterior body of a secondary battery is formed of one or two films. Fora secondary battery having a layered structure, a cross section of thebattery that is bent is a layered components surrounded by two curves ofthe film serving as the exterior body.

The radius of curvature of a surface will be described with reference toFIGS. 16A to 16C. In FIG. 16A, on a plane 1701 along which a curvedsurface 1700 is cut, part of a curve 1702, which is a form of the curvedsurface, is approximated to an arc of a circle, and the radius of thecircle is referred to as a radius 1703 of curvature and the center ofthe circle is referred to as a center 1704 of curvature. FIG. 16B is atop view of the curved surface 1700. FIG. 16C is a cross-sectional viewof the curved surface 1700 taken along the plane 1701. When a curvedsurface is cut by a plane, the radius of curvature of a curve in a crosssection differs depending on the angle between the curved surface andthe plane or on the cut position, and the smallest radius of curvatureis defined as the radius of curvature of a surface in this specificationand the like.

In the case where a secondary battery in which a component 1805including electrodes and an electrolyte solution is sandwiched betweentwo films serving as exterior bodies is bent, a radius 1802 of curvatureof a film 1801 closer to a center 1800 of curvature of the secondarybattery is smaller than a radius 1804 of curvature of a film 1803farther from the center 1800 of curvature (FIG. 17A). When the secondarybattery is bent and has an arc-shaped cross section, a compressivestress is applied to a surface of the film on the side closer to thecenter 1800 of curvature and a tensile stress is applied to a surface ofthe film on the side farther from the center 1800 of curvature (FIG.17B). However, by forming a pattern of projections and depressions onsurfaces of the exterior bodies, influence of distortion can be reducedto be acceptable even when the compressive stress and the tensile stressare applied. For this reason, the secondary battery can change in shapesuch that the exterior body on the side closer to the center ofcurvature has a radius of curvature of 10 mm or more, preferably 30 mmor more.

Note that the cross-sectional shape of the secondary battery is notlimited to a simple arc shape, and the cross section can be partiallyarc-shaped; for example, a shape illustrated in FIG. 17C, a wavy shapeillustrated in FIG. 17D, and an S shape can be used. When the curvedsurface of the secondary battery has a shape with a plurality of centersof curvature, the secondary battery can change in shape such that acurved surface with the smallest radius of curvature among radii ofcurvature with respect to the plurality of centers of curvature, whichis a surface of the exterior body on the side closer to the center ofcurvature, has a radius of curvature of 10 mm or more, preferably 30 mmor more.

One embodiment of the present invention can provide a flexible secondarybattery with a structure of a sealing portion that relaxes a stress ofdeformation. One embodiment of the present invention can ensure thesafety of a flexible secondary battery.

Furthermore, one embodiment of the present invention can provide alithium-ion secondary battery with an exterior body having a novelsealing structure. One embodiment of the present invention can provide aflexible secondary battery with a sealing structure that can endurechange in shape. One embodiment of the present invention can provide anovel secondary battery, a novel power storage device, or the like.

Furthermore, one embodiment of the present invention can provide asecondary battery having a function of changing in shape, i.e., aflexible secondary battery.

Note that the description of these effects does not disturb theexistence of other effects. One embodiment of the present invention doesnot necessarily have all the effects listed above. Other effects will beapparent from and can be derived from the description of thespecification, the drawings, the claims, and the like.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the accompanying drawings:

FIGS. 1A to 1C show a secondary battery of one embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 shows a secondary battery of one embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIGS. 3A and 3B each show a current collector and an active materiallayer;

FIGS. 4A to 4D show a secondary battery of one embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 5 shows a secondary battery of one embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 6 shows a secondary battery of one embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 7 shows a secondary battery of one embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 8 shows a secondary battery of one embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIGS. 9A to 9D illustrate a manufacturing process of a secondary batteryof one embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 10A to 10D illustrate a manufacturing process of a secondarybattery of one embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 11A and 11B each show a shape of a current collector;

FIGS. 12A and 12B illustrate a manufacturing process of a secondarybattery of one embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 13A to 13C illustrate a manufacturing process of a secondarybattery of one embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 14A to 14F illustrate electronic devices;

FIGS. 15A and 15B illustrate an electronic device;

FIGS. 16A to 16C illustrate the radius of curvature;

FIGS. 17A to 17D illustrate a flexible secondary battery;

FIG. 18 shows a secondary battery of one embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 19 shows a secondary battery of one embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 20 shows a secondary battery of one embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 21 shows a secondary battery of one embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 22 shows a secondary battery of one embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 23 shows a secondary battery of one embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 24 shows a secondary battery of one embodiment of the presentinvention; and

FIG. 25 shows a secondary battery of one embodiment of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detailwith reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is notlimited to the description below, and it is easily understood by thoseskilled in the art that modes and details disclosed herein can bemodified in various ways. Further, the present invention is notconstrued as being limited to description of the embodiments.

Note that in each drawing explained in this specification, the size ofeach component, such as the thickness and the size of a positiveelectrode, a negative electrode, an active material layer, a separator,an exterior body, and the like is exaggerated for clarity of explanationin some cases. Therefore, the sizes of the components are not limited tothe sizes in the drawings and relative sizes between the components.

Ordinal numbers such as “first”, “second”, and “third” are used forconvenience and do not denote the order of steps or the stacking orderof layers. Therefore, for example, description can be made even when“first” is replaced with “second” or “third”, as appropriate. Inaddition, the ordinal numbers in this specification and the like are notnecessarily the same as those which specify one embodiment of thepresent invention.

Note that in the structures of the present invention described in thisspecification and the like, the same portions or portions having similarfunctions in different drawings are denoted by the same referencenumerals, and description of such portions is not repeated. Further, thesame hatching pattern is applied to portions having similar functions,and the portions are not especially denoted by reference numerals insome cases.

In this specification, flexibility refers to a property of an objectbeing flexible and bendable. In other words, it is a property of anobject that can be deformed in response to an external force applied tothe object, and elasticity or restorability to the former shape is nottaken into consideration. A secondary battery having flexibility, i.e. aflexible secondary battery can be deformed in response to an externalforce. A flexible secondary battery can be used with its shape fixed ina state of being deformed, can be used while repeatedly deformed, andcan be used in a state of not deformed.

The descriptions in embodiments of the present invention can be combinedwith each other as appropriate.

Embodiment 1

A manufacturing method of a lithium-ion secondary battery of oneembodiment of the present invention will be described below withreference to FIG. 2. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional schematic view of astack including a positive electrode current collector 201 a, a positiveelectrode active material layer 201 b, a separator 203, a negativeelectrode active material layer 202 b, and a negative electrode currentcollector 202 a. Details of the current collectors and active materiallayers will be described later. Note that the active material layer canbe formed on each surface of the current collector, in which case asecondary battery with a layered structure can be obtained.

A negative electrode will be described with reference to FIG. 3A. Thenegative electrode includes at least the negative electrode activematerial layer 202 b and the negative electrode current collector 202 a.In this embodiment, steps of forming a negative electrode with the useof a carbon-based material as a material of the negative electrodeactive material layer 202 b will be described below. The negativeelectrode active material is a granular active material in FIG. 3A. Forthis reason, the negative electrode active material is schematicallyshown as circles in FIG. 3A; however, the shape of the negativeelectrode active material is not limited to this shape. In addition,although the negative electrode active material is schematically shownas grains with only several sizes, the sizes may have more variations.Steps of forming the negative electrode will be described below.

For the negative electrode active material, a carbon-based material suchas graphite, graphitizing carbon (soft carbon), non-graphitizing carbon(hard carbon), a carbon nanotube, graphene, or carbon black can be used.Examples of the graphite include artificial graphite such as meso-carbonmicrobeads (MCMB), coke-based artificial graphite, or pitch-basedartificial graphite and natural graphite such as spherical naturalgraphite. In addition, the shape of the graphite is a flaky shape or aspherical shape, for example.

In addition to the carbon-based materials, a material that enablescharge-discharge reactions by an alloying reaction and a dealloyingreaction with lithium can be used for the negative electrode activematerial. For example, a material including at least one of Ga, Si, Al,Ge, Sn, Pb, Sb, Bi, Ag, Zn, Cd, In, and the like can be used. Suchelements have higher capacity than carbon. In particular, silicon ispreferred because it has a high theoretical capacity of 4200 mAh/g.Examples of the alloy-based material using such elements include Mg₂Si,Mg₂Ge, SnO, SnO₂, Mg₂Sn, SnS₂, V₂Sn₃, FeSn₂, CoSn₂, Ni₃Sn₂, Cu₆Sn₅,Ag₃Sn, Ag₃Sb, Ni₂MnSb, CeSb₃, LaSn₃, La₃Co₂Sn₇, CoSb₃, InSb, SbSn, andthe like.

Alternatively, for the negative electrode active material, an oxide suchas silicon oxide (SiO), titanium dioxide (TiO₂), lithium titanium oxide(Li₄Ti₅O₁₂), lithium-graphite intercalation compound (Li_(x)C₆), niobiumpentoxide (Nb₂O₅), tungsten oxide (WO₂), or molybdenum oxide (MoO₂) canbe used.

Still alternatively, for the negative electrode active material,Li_(3−x)M_(x)N (M is Co, Ni, or Cu) with a Li₃N structure, which is anitride including lithium and a transition metal, can be used. Forexample, Li_(2.6)Co_(0.4)N₃ is preferable because of high charge anddischarge capacity (900 mAh/g and 1890 mAh/cm³).

When a nitride including lithium and a transition metal is used, lithiumions are included in the negative electrode active material; thus, thenegative electrode active material can be used in combination with amaterial for a positive electrode active material that does not includelithium ions, such as V₂O₅ or Cr₃O₈. In the case where a materialcontaining lithium ions is used as a positive electrode active material,the nitride containing lithium and a transition metal can be used forthe negative electrode active material by extracting the lithium ionscontained in the positive electrode active material in advance.

Alternatively, a material which causes a conversion reaction can be usedas the negative electrode active material. For example, a transitionmetal oxide with which an alloying reaction with lithium is not caused,such as cobalt oxide (CoO), nickel oxide (NiO), or iron oxide (FeO), maybe used for the negative electrode active material. Other examples ofthe material which causes a conversion reaction include oxides such asFe₂O₃, CuO, Cu₂O, RuO₂, and Cr₂O₃, sulfides such as CoS_(0.89), NiS, andCuS, nitrides such as Zn₃N₂, Cu₃N, and Ge₃N₄, phosphides such as NiP₂,FeP₂, and CoP₃, and fluorides such as FeF₃ and BiF₃.

The negative electrode active material with a particle size of greaterthan or equal to 50 nm and less than or equal to 100 μm, for example,may be used.

Examples of a conductive additive of an electrode include acetyleneblack (AB), graphite (black lead) particles, carbon nanotubes, graphene,and fullerene.

A network for electrical conduction can be formed in the electrode bythe conductive additive. The conductive additive also allows maintainingof a path for electrical conduction between the negative electrodeactive materials. The addition of the conductive additive to thenegative electrode active material layer increases the electricalconductivity of the negative electrode active material layer 202 b.

A typical example of the binder is polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), andother examples of the binder include polyimide, polytetrafluoroethylene,polyvinyl chloride, ethylene-propylene-diene polymer, styrene-butadienerubber, acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber, fluorine rubber, polyvinylacetate, polymethyl methacrylate, polyethylene, and nitrocellulose.

The content of the binder in the negative electrode active materiallayer 202 b is preferably greater than or equal to 1 wt % and less thanor equal to 10 wt %, more preferably greater than or equal to 2 wt % andless than or equal to 8 wt %, and still more preferably greater than orequal to 3 wt % and less than or equal to 5 wt %. The content of theconductive additive in the negative electrode active material layer 202b is preferably greater than or equal to 1 wt % and less than or equalto 10 wt %, more preferably greater than or equal to 1 wt % and lessthan or equal to 5 wt %.

Next, the negative electrode active material layer 202 b is formed onthe negative electrode current collector 202 a. In the case where thenegative electrode active material layer 202 b is formed by a coatingmethod, the negative electrode active material, the binder, theconductive additive, and a dispersant are mixed to form an electrodepaste (slurry), the electrode paste is applied to the negative electrodecurrent collector 202 a, and evaporation is performed. Then, pressingmay be performed, if necessary.

In this embodiment, copper foil is used as the negative electrodecurrent collector 202 a, and a mixture of MCMB and PVDF as the binder isused as the slurry.

The negative electrode current collector 202 a can be formed using amaterial, which has high conductivity and is not alloyed with carrierions such as lithium ions, e.g., a metal typified by stainless steel,gold, platinum, zinc, iron, copper, titanium, or tantalum, or an alloythereof. Alternatively, a metal element which forms silicide by reactingwith silicon can be used. Examples of the metal element which formssilicide by reacting with silicon include zirconium, titanium, hafnium,vanadium, niobium, tantalum, chromium, molybdenum, tungsten, cobalt,nickel, and the like. The negative electrode current collector 202 a canhave a foil-like shape, a plate-like shape (sheet-like shape), anet-like shape, a cylindrical shape, a coil shape, a punching-metalshape, an expanded-metal shape, or the like as appropriate. The negativeelectrode current collector 202 a preferably has a thickness greaterthan or equal to 5 μm and less than or equal to 30 μm. Part of thesurface of the electrode current collector may be provided with anundercoat layer using graphite or the like.

Through the above steps, the negative electrode of the lithium-ionsecondary battery can be formed.

A positive electrode will be described with reference to FIG. 3B. Thepositive electrode includes at least the positive electrode activematerial layer 201 b and the positive electrode current collector 201 a.Although the positive electrode active material is schematicallyillustrated as circles in FIG. 3B, the shape of the positive electrodeactive material is not limited to this shape. In addition, although thepositive electrode active material is schematically shown as grains withonly several sizes, the sizes may have more variations.

The positive electrode 201 includes, for example, the positive electrodecurrent collector 201 a and the positive electrode active material layer201 b formed over the positive electrode current collector 201 a. Inthis embodiment, an example of providing the positive electrode activematerial layer 201 b on one surface of the positive electrode currentcollector 201 a having a sheet shape (or a strip-like shape) is shown.However, this embodiment is not limited thereto; the positive electrodeactive material layer 201 b may be provided on each surface of thepositive electrode current collector 201 a. The positive electrodeactive material layers 201 b may be provided to sandwich the positiveelectrode current collector 201 a therebetween, in which case thecapacity of the secondary battery can be increased. Furthermore, in thisembodiment, the positive electrode active material layer 201 b isprovided on the entire positive electrode current collector 201 a.However, this embodiment is not limited thereto; the positive electrodeactive material layer 201 b may be provided on part of the positiveelectrode current collector 201 a. For example, the positive electrodeactive material layer 201 b is not provided on a portion of the positiveelectrode current collector 201 a which is to be electrically in contactwith a positive electrode lead (hereinafter, the portion is alsoreferred to as a “positive electrode tab”).

For the positive electrode active material, for example, a material intoand from which carrier ions such as lithium ions can be inserted andextracted can be used. For example, a lithium-containing material withan olivine crystal structure, a layered rock-salt crystal structure, anda spinel crystal structure can be used.

Typical examples of the lithium-containing material with an olivinecrystal structure represented by a general formula, LiMPO₄ (M is Fe(II),Mn(II), Co(II), or Ni(II)), are LiFePO₄, LiNiPO₄, LiCoPO₄, LiMnPO₄,LiFe_(a)Ni_(b)PO₄, LiFe_(a)Co_(b)PO₄, LiFe_(a)Mn_(b)PO₄,LiNi_(a)Co_(b)PO₄, LiNi_(a)Mn_(b)PO₄ (a+b≦1, 0<a<1, and 0<b<1),LiFe_(c)Ni_(d)Co_(e)PO₄, LiFe_(c)Ni_(d)Mn_(e)PO₄,LiNi_(c)Co_(d)Mn_(e)PO₄ (c+d+e≦1, 0<c<1, 0<d<1, and 0<e<1), andLiFe_(f)Ni_(g)Co_(h)Mn_(i)PO₄(f+g+h+i≦1, 0<f<1, 0<g<1, 0<h<1, and0<i<1).

Lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO₄) is particularly preferable because itproperly has properties necessary for a positive electrode activematerial, such as safety, stability, high capacity density, highpotential, and the existence of lithium ions that can be extracted ininitial oxidation (charge).

Examples of the lithium-containing material with a layered rock-saltcrystal structure include lithium cobalt oxide (LiCoO₂); LiNiO₂; LiMnO₂;Li₂MnO₃; an NiCo-based lithium-containing material (a general formulathereof is LiNi_(x)Co_(1−x)O₂ (0<x<1)) such as LiNi_(0.8)Co_(0.2)O₂; anNiMn-based lithium-containing material (a general formula thereof isLiNi_(x)Mn_(1−x)O₂ (0<x<1)) such as LiNi_(0.5)Mn_(0.5)O₂; and anNiMnCo-based lithium-containing material (also referred to as NMC, and ageneral formula thereof is LiNi_(x)Mn_(y)Co_(1−x−y)O₂ (x>0, y>0, x+y<1))such as LiNi_(1/3)Mn_(1/3)Co_(1/3)O₂. Moreover,Li(Ni_(0.8)Co_(0.15)Al_(0.05))O₂, Li₂MnO₃—LiMO₂ (M is Co, Ni, or Mn),and the like can be given as the examples.

LiCoO₂ is particularly preferable because it has high capacity,stability in the air higher than that of LiNiO₂, and thermal stabilityhigher than that of LiNiO₂, for example.

Examples of the lithium-containing material with a spinel crystalstructure include LiMn₂O₄, Li_(1+x)Mn_(2−x)O₄, LiMnAlO₄, andLiMn_(1.5)Ni_(0.5)O₄.

It is preferable to add a small amount of lithium nickel oxide (LiNiO₂or LiNi_(1−x)MO₂ (M=Co, Al, or the like)) to the lithium-containingmaterial with a spinel crystal structure that contains manganese such asLiMn₂O₄, in which case the elution of manganese and the decomposition ofan electrolyte solution can be suppressed, for example.

Alternatively, a composite oxide represented by a general formula,Li(_(2−j))MSiO₄ (M is Fe(II), Mn(II), Co(II), or Ni(II), where 0≦j≦2),can be used as the positive electrode active material. Typical examplesof Li(_(2−j))MSiO₄ (general formula) are Li(_(2−j))FeSiO₄,Li(_(2−j))NiSiO₄, Li(_(2−j))CoSiO₄, Li(_(2−j))MnSiO₄,Li(_(2−j))Fe_(k)Ni_(l)SiO₄, Li(_(2−j))Fe_(k)Co_(l)SiO₄,Li(_(2−j))Fe_(k)Mn_(l)SiO₄, Li(_(2−j))Ni_(k)Co_(l)SiO₄,Li(_(2−j))Ni_(k)Mn_(l)SiO₄ (k+l≦1, 0<k<1, and 0</<1),Li(_(2−j))Fe_(m)Ni_(n)Co_(q)SiO₄, Li(_(2−j))Fe_(m)Ni_(n)Mn_(q)SiO₄,Li(_(2−j))Ni_(m)Co_(n)Mn_(q)SiO₄ (m+n+q≦1, 0<m<1, 0<n<1, and 0<q<1), andLi(_(2−j))Fe_(r)Ni_(s)Co_(t)Mn_(u)SiO₄(r+s+t+u≦1, 0<r<1,0<s<1,0<t<1, and0<u<1).

Still alternatively, a nasicon compound represented by a generalformula, A_(x)M₂(XO₄)₃ (A is Li, Na, or Mg, M is Fe, Mn, Ti, V, Nb, orAl, and X is S, P, Mo, W, As, or Si), can be used as the positiveelectrode active material. Examples of the nasicon compound areFe₂(MnO₄)₃, Fe₂(SO₄)₃, and Li₃Fe₂(PO₄)₃. Further alternatively, acompound represented by a general formula Li₂ MPO₄F, Li₂ MP₂O₇, andLi₅MO₄ (M is Fe or Mn), a perovskite fluoride such as NaF₃ and FeF₃, ametal chalcogenide (a sulfide, a selenide, or a telluride) such as TiS₂and MoS₂, a lithium-containing material with an inverse spinel crystalstructure such as LiMVO₄, a vanadium oxide (V₂O₅, V₆O₁₃, LiV₃O₈, or thelike), a manganese oxide, an organic sulfur compound, or the like can beused as the positive electrode active material.

In the case where carrier ions are alkali metal ions other than lithiumions or alkaline-earth metal ions, the following may be used as thepositive electrode active material: a compound or oxide which isobtained by substituting an alkali metal (e.g., sodium or potassium) oran alkaline-earth metal (e.g., calcium, strontium, barium, beryllium, ormagnesium) for lithium in any of the above-described compounds oroxides. For example, the positive electrode active material may be alayered oxide containing sodium such as NaFeO₂ andNa_(2/3)[Fe_(1/2)Mn_(1/2)]O₂.

Furthermore, any of the aforementioned materials may be combined to beused as the positive electrode active material. For example, a solidsolution obtained by combining two or more of the above materials can beused as the positive electrode active material. For example, a solidsolution of LiCo_(1/3)Mn_(1/3)Ni_(1/3)O₂ and Li₂MnO₃ can be used as thepositive electrode active material.

The positive electrode active material with a particle size of greaterthan or equal to 50 nm and less than or equal to 100 μm, for example,may be used.

The separator will be described below. As a material for the separator,paper, nonwoven fabric, a glass fiber, a synthetic fiber such as nylon(polyimide), vinylon (a polyvinyl alcohol based fiber), polyester,acrylic, polyolefin, or polyurethane, or the like may be used. However,a material which does not dissolve in an electrolyte solution describedlater should be selected.

More specifically, as a material for the separator, high-molecularcompounds based on fluorine-based polymer, polyether such aspolyethylene oxide and polypropylene oxide, polyolefin such aspolyethylene and polypropylene, polyacrylonitrile, polyvinylidenechloride, polymethyl methacrylate, polymethylacrylate, polyvinylalcohol, polymethacrylonitrile, polyvinyl acetate, polyvinylpyrrolidone,polyethyleneimine, polybutadiene, polystyrene, polyisoprene, andpolyurethane, derivatives thereof, cellulose, paper, nonwoven fabric,and a glass fiber can be used either alone or in combination.

The separator needs to have insulation performance that preventsconnection between the electrodes, performance that holds theelectrolyte solution, and ionic conductivity. As a method for forming afilm having a function as a separator, a method for forming a film bystretching is given. Examples of the method include a stretchingaperture method in which a melted polymer material is spread, heat isreleased from the material, and pores are formed by stretching theresulting film in the directions of two axes parallel to the film.

To set the separator in a secondary battery, a method in which theseparator is inserted between a positive electrode and a negativeelectrode can be used. Furthermore, a method in which the separator isplaced on one of the positive electrode and the negative electrode andthen the other of the positive electrode and the negative electrode isplaced thereon can be used. The positive electrode, the negativeelectrode, and the separator are stored in an exterior body, and theexterior body is filled with an electrolyte solution, whereby asecondary battery can be formed.

The separator with a size large enough to cover each surface of eitherthe positive electrode or the negative electrode, in a form of sheet orenvelope may be fabricated to form the electrode wrapped in theseparator. In that case, the electrode can be protected from mechanicaldamages in the manufacture of the secondary battery and the handling ofthe electrode becomes easier. The electrode wrapped in the separator andthe other electrode are stored in the exterior body, and the exteriorbody is filled with an electrolyte solution, whereby a secondary batterycan be formed. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a secondary batterywith an envelope-like separator. Although FIG. 2 shows thecross-sectional structure of the secondary battery including a pair ofpositive and negative electrodes, a secondary battery with a layeredstructure including plural pairs of positive and negative electrodes mayalso be manufactured.

Furthermore, a plurality of separators may be used. Although theseparator can be formed by the above method, the size of pores and thethickness of the film are limited due to the constituent material andthe mechanical strength of the film. A first separator and a secondseparator each formed by a stretching method may be used together in asecondary battery. As the materials for forming the first separator andthe second separator, one or more materials can be selected from theabove-listed materials or the other materials. Depending on theconditions of film formation, the conditions of film stretching, and thelike, properties such as the size of pores in the film, the proportionof the volume occupied by pores (also referred to as porosity), and thefilm thickness can each be determined. The use of the first separatorand the second separator having different properties together increasesthe variety of properties of the separator for a secondary battery tochoose from, as compared to the use of a single separator by itself.

Furthermore, when a secondary battery is subjected to a deformingstress, the stress can be relaxed by sliding of the first separator andthe second separator at the interface between the two separators.Therefore, the structure using two separators is suitable for a flexiblesecondary battery as well.

The electrolyte solution used in the lithium-ion secondary battery ispreferably a nonaqueous solution (solvent) containing a supportingelectrolyte salt (solute).

As a solvent for the electrolyte solution, an aprotic organic solvent ispreferably used. For example, one of ethylene carbonate (EC), propylenecarbonate (PC), butylene carbonate, chloroethylene carbonate, vinylenecarbonate, γ-butyrolactone, γ-valerolactone, dimethyl carbonate (DMC),diethyl carbonate (DEC), ethyl methyl carbonate (EMC), methyl formate,methyl acetate, methyl butyrate, 1,3-dioxane, 1,4-dioxane,dimethoxyethane (DME), dimethyl sulfoxide, diethyl ether, methyldiglyme, acetonitrile, benzonitrile, tetrahydrofuran, sulfolane, andsultone can be used, or two or more of these solvents can be used in anappropriate combination in an appropriate ratio.

When a gelled high-molecular material is used as the solvent for theelectrolyte, safety against liquid leakage and the like is improved.Further, the lithium-ion secondary battery can be thinner and morelightweight. Typical examples of the gelled high-molecular materialinclude a silicone gel, an acrylic gel, an acrylonitrile gel,polyethylene oxide, polypropylene oxide, a fluorine-based polymer, andthe like.

Alternatively, the use of one or more of ionic liquids (room temperaturemolten salts) that have non-flammability and non-volatility as thesolvent for the electrolyte solution can prevent a lithium-ion secondarybattery from exploding or catching fire even when the lithium-ionsecondary battery internally shorts out or the internal temperatureincreases due to overcharging and the like. Thus, the lithium-ionsecondary battery has improved safety.

Examples of a supporting electrolyte salt dissolved in theabove-described solvent are one of lithium salts such as LiPF₆, LiClO₄,LiAsF₆, LiBF₄, LiAlCl₄, LiSCN, LiBr, LiI, Li₂SO₄, Li₂B₁₀Cl₁₀,Li₂B₁₂Cl₁₂, LiCF₃SO₃, LiC₄F₉SO₃, LiC(CF₃SO₂)₃, LiC(C₂F₅SO₂)₃,LiN(CF₃SO₂)₂, LiN(C₄F₉SO₂) (CF₃SO₂), and LiN(C₂F₅SO₂)₂, or two or moreof these lithium salts in an appropriate combination in an appropriateratio.

Although the case where carrier ions are lithium ions in the aboveelectrolyte is described, carrier ions other than lithium ions can beused. When carrier ions other than lithium ions are alkali metal ions oralkaline-earth metal ions, instead of lithium in the above lithiumsalts, an alkali metal (e.g., sodium and potassium), an alkaline-earthmetal (e.g., calcium, strontium, barium, beryllium, and magnesium) maybe used for an electrolyte.

The electrolyte solution used for the secondary battery preferablycontains a reduced amount of dust particles and elements other than theconstituent elements of the electrolyte solution (hereinafter, alsosimply referred to as impurities) so as to be highly purified.Specifically, the weight ratio of impurities to the electrolyte solutionis less than or equal to 1%, preferably less than or equal to 0.1%, andmore preferably less than or equal to 0.01%. An additive agent such asvinylene carbonate may be added to the electrolyte solution.

Next, an exterior body according to one embodiment of the presentinvention will be described. As the exterior body, for example, alaminate film having a three-layer structure in which a highly flexiblemetal thin film of aluminum, stainless steel, copper, nickel, or thelike is provided over a film formed of a material such as polyethylene,polypropylene, polycarbonate, ionomer, or polyamide, and an insulatingsynthetic resin film of a polyamide-based resin, a polyester-basedresin, or the like is provided as the outer surface of the exterior bodyover the metal thin film can be used. With such a three-layer structure,permeation of an electrolyte solution and a gas can be blocked and aninsulating property and resistance to the electrolyte solution can beobtained. The exterior body is folded inside in two, or two exteriorbodies are stacked with the inner surfaces facing each other. By theapplication of heat, the materials on the overlapping inner surfacesmelt to cause fusion bonding between the two exterior bodies. In thismanner, a sealing structure can be formed.

In a secondary battery of one embodiment of the present invention, aportion where a sealing structure is formed by fusion bonding or thelike of the exterior body is referred to as a sealing portion. In a casewhere the exterior body is folded inside in two, the sealing portion isformed in the place other than the fold, and a first region of theexterior body and a second region of the exterior body that overlapswith the first region are fusion-bonded, for example. In a case wheretwo exterior bodies are stacked, the sealing portion is formed along theentire circumference by heat fusion bonding or the like.

In a secondary battery of one embodiment of the present invention, theplanar shape of a sealing portion of an exterior body may be a shapewith a curve, a shape with a wavy line, a shape with an arc, or a shapewith a plurality of inflection points. FIG. 4A shows an example of asecondary battery with a wavy sealing portion. For the secondary batteryin FIG. 4A, one exterior body is folded in two and the wavy sealingportion is formed in the place other than the fold.

Although a wavy sealing portion requires a devised manufacturing methodbecause its shape is more complicated than a linear sealing portion, itstotal length is larger than that of a linear sealing portion. Thus,comparing a wavy sealing portion and a linear sealing portion having thesame width, the area used for sealing is larger in the wavy sealingportion than that in the linear sealing portion. Therefore, adhesion ofthe exterior body is better in the wavy sealing portion.

The cross-sectional structure of an exterior body of one embodiment ofthe present invention and the cross-sectional structure of the exteriorbody when it is deformed will be described with reference to FIGS. 4B to4D. FIG. 4B schematically shows the cross-sectional structure alongdashed line A-B in FIG. 4A. When the secondary battery is deformed inthe manner shown in FIG. 4C, a compressive stress is applied to theexterior body closer to the axis of deformation and a tensile stress isapplied to the other exterior body farther from the axis. The sealingportion is where the two different stresses join. That is, the sealingportion is subjected to a large burden of deformation, and repeateddeformation leads to fatigue accumulation there. Since the wavy sealingportion has better adhesion than the linear sealing portion and is noteasily broken by stresses, it is suitable for the sealing structure of asecondary battery with high durability.

FIG. 4D schematically shows the cross-sectional structure along dashedline C-D in FIG. 4A. Shown in FIG. 4D are a pair of positive andnegative electrodes, a separator, an electrolyte solution, and the likesandwiched by exterior bodies; however, a secondary battery of oneembodiment of the present invention may be a secondary battery with alayered structure including a plurality of positive electrodes, negativeelectrodes, and separators being stacked. A sealing portion is at eachside of the secondary battery in FIG. 4D. The upper and lower exteriorbodies are bonded to each other by fusion bonding or the like to holdthe electrolyte solution. The upper and lower exterior bodies are fixedto each other in the sealing portions but the exterior bodies are notfixed in the other portion at the inner side than the sealing portions.The exterior body near the sealing portion corresponds to the boundarybetween two regions with different deformation conditions, and a stressis more likely to concentrate there.

The above-mentioned boundary between the two regions, which is formedalong a sealing portion, can be longer in a wavy sealing portion than ina linear sealing portion. Therefore, for the wavy sealing portion, whena certain stress is applied due to deformation of the secondary battery,the stress can be dispersed in a larger region and the exterior bodynear the sealing portion is less likely to be broken. Accordingly, thewavy sealing portion is suitable for the sealing structure of asecondary battery with high durability.

Note that as a structure for dispersing widely the stress applied to theabove-mentioned boundary in a secondary battery, it is acceptable aslong as the sealing portion at the inner side of the secondary batteryhas a wavy shape, and the sealing portion at the outer edge side of thesecondary battery may have a different shape. Furthermore, as long asthe sealing portion at the inner side of the secondary battery has awavy shape, the shape of the sealing portion at the outer edge side ofthe secondary battery may be the same as the planar shape of theexterior body. In other words, the exterior bodies may bepressure-bonded or fusion-bonded at the entire portion at the outer sideof the wavy line or the like. FIG. 18 shows an example in which asealing portion has a shape with a wavy line at the inner side of asecondary battery and has the same shape as the planar shape of anexterior body at the outer edge side of the secondary battery. Note thatin FIG. 18 the sealing portion 100 is hatched for the convenience ofexplanation.

Although the wavy sealing portion, and the shape of the sealing portionat the inner side of the battery with a wavy line are described above,the shape is not limited to a shape with a wavy line, and may be a shapewith a curve, a shape with an arch, or a shape with a plurality ofinflection points. As long as a sealing portion with the total lengthlarger than that of a linear sealing portion can be formed, the sealingportion may be formed with a variety of shapes without limited to ashape with a wavy line or a shape with an arch. In such a way, a highlyreliable secondary battery that can endure repeated deformation can beprovided.

For example, in a case where an exterior body is formed byfusion-bonding two films that are stacked on one another, a wavy sealingportion can be formed along the entire circumference as shown in FIG. 5.Alternatively, a secondary battery may be fabricated in the followingway: an electrode body including a positive electrode, a negativeelectrode, a separator, and the like is stored in a cylinder formed of afilm of an exterior body material, and wavy sealing portions are formed(see FIG. 6). In addition to the wavy sealing portion, a zigzag sealingportion shown in FIG. 7 or a sealing portion having the shape shown inFIG. 8 may be employed.

Although the wavy sealing portion and the shape of the sealing portionat the inner side of the battery with a wavy line are described above,the shape may be a combination of any of the following: a shape with astraight line, a shape with a curve, a shape with a wavy line, a shapewith an arch, a shape with a plurality of inflection points, and thelike. Furthermore, different shapes may be employed for different sides.Furthermore, a different shape may be employed in a certain region. Forexample, a case where the upper side sealing portion in FIG. 1A is madelinear is shown in FIG. 19. Not only in FIG. 1A but also in the otherdrawings, some of the sides may be made linear or into other variousshapes. For example, a case where such modification is made to FIG. 5 isshown in FIG. 20, a case where such modification is made to FIG. 7 isshown in FIG. 21, and a case where such modification is made to FIG. 18is shown in FIG. 22. In addition, a case where the upper side sealingportion in FIG. 1A is made zigzag is shown in FIG. 23, as an example. Inaddition, other examples in which the shape of a sealing portion ischanged in some regions are shown in FIGS. 24 and 25.

As described above, in a variety of drawings in this specification, theshape of a sealing portion and the shape of a sealing portion at theinner side of a battery can be changed, at some sides or in someregions, into a variety of different shapes.

An exterior body of a flexible secondary battery of one embodiment ofthe present invention can be deformed with a radius of curvature of 10mm or more, preferably with a radius of curvature of 30 mm or more. Oneor two films are used as the exterior body of the secondary battery.

Although an example of use in a lithium-ion secondary battery isdescribed in this embodiment, one embodiment of the present invention isnot limited to this example. Use in a variety of secondary batteriessuch as a lead storage battery, a lithium-ion polymer secondary battery,a nickel-hydrogen storage battery, a nickel-cadmium storage battery, anickel-iron storage battery, a nickel-zinc storage battery, a silveroxide-zinc storage battery, a solid-state battery, and an air battery isalso possible. Use in a variety of power storage devices such as aprimary battery, a capacitor, and a lithium-ion capacitor is alsopossible.

This embodiment can be implemented in appropriate combination with anyof the other embodiments.

Embodiment 2

In this embodiment, an example of a manufacturing method of a secondarybattery will be described with reference to drawings.

[1. Covering Negative Electrode with Separator]

Although the negative electrode described in Embodiment 1 can be used,the negative electrode is not limited thereto. A separator is providedbetween a positive electrode and a negative electrode in a secondarybattery. For example, a method in which a negative electrode is coveredwith a separator film in a shape of a bag in advance, and a positiveelectrode and the negative electrode covered with the separator arestored in a secondary battery may be employed. First, a negativeelectrode 302 is placed on a film 301 for forming a separator (see FIG.9A). Then, the film 301 is folded along a portion indicated by a dottedline in FIG. 9A (see FIG. 9B), and the negative electrode 302 isinterposed between one part of the film 301 and the other part thereof(see FIG. 9C).

Then, the outer edges of the film 301, which is outside of the negativeelectrode 302, are bonded to form the separator. The outer edges of thefilm 301 may be bonded to each other using an adhesive or the like ormay be bonded by ultrasonic welding or heat fusion bonding.

In this embodiment, polypropylene is used as the film 301, and the outeredges of the film 301 are bonded to each other by heating. A bondingportion 303 is shown in FIG. 9D. In this manner, the negative electrode302 can be covered with the separator.

[2. Connecting Negative Electrode Lead to Negative Electrode Tab]

Next, a negative electrode lead 305 including a sealing layer 304 iselectrically connected to the negative electrode tab of the negativeelectrode current collector 302 a by ultrasonic waves with pressureapplied (ultrasonic welding) (see FIG. 10A).

The lead electrode is likely to be cracked or cut by a stress due to anexternal force applied after fabrication of the secondary battery.

Thus, an ultrasonic welding apparatus including bonding dies illustratedin FIG. 10B is used in this embodiment. Note that only top and bottombonding dies of the ultrasonic welding apparatus are illustrated in FIG.10B for simplicity.

The negative electrode tab and the negative electrode lead 305 arepositioned between a first bonding die 311 provided with projections 310and a second bonding die 312. When ultrasonic welding is performed witha region that is to be connected overlapping with the projections 310, aconnection region 313 and a bent portion 314 are formed in the negativeelectrode tab. FIG. 10C is a perspective view in which the connectionregion 313 and the bent portion 314 of the negative electrode tab areenlarged.

This bent portion 314 can relax the stress due to an external forceapplied after fabrication of a secondary battery, whereby thereliability of the secondary battery can be increased.

Furthermore, the ultrasonic welding apparatus including the bonding diesillustrated in FIG. 10B can perform ultrasonic welding and form the bentportion at a time; thus, a secondary battery can be fabricated withoutincreasing the number of fabricating steps. Note that ultrasonic weldingand formation of the bent portion 314 may be separately performed.

The bent portion 314 is not necessarily formed in the negative electrodetab. To relax stress, the shape of the negative electrode tab of thenegative electrode current collector may be modified. FIGS. 11A and 11Beach show a perspective view of the negative electrode current collector302 a as an example. For example, a slit 315 may be provided in thenegative electrode tab so that a stress generated by an external forceapplied after fabrication of a secondary battery is relaxed (see FIG.11A).

Furthermore, the negative electrode current collector 302 a may have arounded corner in a region 316 surrounded by a two-dot chain line in thedrawing so that the concentration of a stress is relaxed (see FIG. 11B).Furthermore, the corner of the region 316 is preferably more rounded offthan the other corners to have a large radius of curvature.

Alternatively, a high-strength material such as stainless steel may beused for a negative electrode current collector and the negativeelectrode current collector may be formed to have a thickness of 10 μmor less, in order to relax a stress due to an external force appliedafter fabrication of a secondary battery.

It is needless to say that two or more of the above examples may becombined to relax concentration of the stress in the negative electrodetab.

[3. Connecting Positive Electrode Lead to Positive Electrode Tab]

Next, the positive electrode lead including a sealing layer iselectrically connected to the positive electrode tab of the positiveelectrode current collector. The connection of the positive electrodelead to the positive electrode tab can be performed in a manner similarto the connection of the negative electrode lead to the negativeelectrode tab.

[4. Covering Positive Electrode and Negative Electrode with ExteriorBody]

Next, a positive electrode 318 and the negative electrode 302 arestacked and placed over an exterior body 317. At this time, the positiveelectrode 318 and the negative electrode 302 are stacked so that apositive electrode active material layer 318 b and a negative electrodeactive material layer 302 b face each other (see FIG. 12A).

Then, the exterior body 317 is folded along a portion indicated by thedotted line in the middle of the exterior body 317 shown in FIG. 12A(see FIG. 12B) so as to be in the state shown in FIG. 13A.

[5. Introducing Electrolyte Solution to Exterior Body]

The outer edges of the exterior body 317 except an introduction port 320for introducing the electrolyte solution are bonded to each other bythermocompression bonding. The shape of a sealing portion 322 formed bythermocomression bonding can be a shape with a wavy line, a shape withan arch, or a shape with a plurality of inflection points described inEmbodiment 1. In this way, the boundary between a bonded portion and anon-bonded portion is longer along the sealing portion than the casewhere the sealing portion has a linear shape. Therefore, when a certainstress is applied due to deformation of the secondary battery, thestress can be dispersed in a larger region and a portion of the exteriorbody near the sealing portion is less likely to be broken. Accordingly,a sealing portion with such a shape is suitable for the sealingstructure of a secondary battery with high durability. In addition, asealing portion with a total length larger than that of a linear sealingportion can be formed to increase the adhesion, whereby a highlyreliable secondary battery that can endure repeated deformation can beobtained.

In thermocompression bonding, the sealing layers 304 provided over thelead electrodes are also melted, thereby fixing the lead electrodes andthe exterior body 317 to each other. FIG. 13B shows the sealing portion322 where a first region of the exterior body 317 and a second region ofthe exterior body 317 having the same shape as the first region arebonded to each other by thermocompression bonding.

After that, in a reduced-pressure atmosphere or an inert atmosphere, adesired amount of electrolyte solution is introduced to the inside ofthe exterior body through the introduction port 320. Finally, theintroduction port 320 is sealed by thermocompression bonding. Throughthe above steps, a secondary battery 321 can be fabricated (see FIG.13C). Note that the planar shape of a portion for sealing theintroduction port may be similar to the planar shape of the othersealing portion.

This embodiment can be implemented in appropriate combination with anyof the other embodiments.

Embodiment 3

In this embodiment, examples of electronic devices including thesecondary battery illustrated in the above embodiments will be describedwith reference to FIGS. 14A to 14F and FIGS. 15A and 15B.

Examples of electronic devices including secondary batteries are camerassuch as digital cameras and digital video cameras, digital photo frames,mobile phones (also referred to as cellular phones or portable telephonedevices), portable game consoles, portable information terminals, andaudio reproducing devices. Specific examples of these electronic devicesare shown in FIGS. 14A to 14F and FIGS. 15A and 15B.

FIG. 14A shows an example of a mobile phone. A mobile phone 800 isprovided with a display portion 802 incorporated in a housing 801, anoperation button 803, a speaker 805, a microphone 806, and the like. Theuse of a secondary battery 804 of one embodiment of the presentinvention in the mobile phone 800 results in weight reduction.

When the display portion 802 of the mobile phone 800 shown in FIG. 14Ais touched with a finger or the like, data can be input into the mobilephone 800. Users can make a call or text messaging by touching thedisplay portion 802 with their fingers or the like.

There are mainly three screen modes for the display portion 802. Thefirst mode is a display mode mainly for displaying an image. The secondmode is an input mode mainly for inputting data such as characters. Thethird mode is a display-and-input mode in which two modes of the displaymode and the input mode are combined.

For example, when making a call or creating an e-mail, a text input modemainly for inputting text is selected for the display portion 802 sothat input operations of texts displayed on a screen can be performed.

When a sensing device including a sensor such as a gyroscope and anacceleration sensor for detecting inclination is provided in the mobilephone 800, display on the screen of the display portion 802 can beautomatically changed in direction by determining the orientation of themobile phone 800 (whether the mobile phone 800 is placed horizontally orvertically for a landscape mode or a portrait mode).

The screen modes are switched by touching the display portion 802 oroperating the operation button 803 of the housing 801. Alternatively,the screen modes may be switched depending on the kind of the imagedisplayed on the display portion 802. For example, when a signal of animage displayed on the display portion is a signal of moving image data,the screen mode is switched to the display mode. When the signal is asignal of text data, the screen mode is switched to the input mode.

Moreover, in the input mode, if a signal detected by an optical sensorin the display portion 802 is detected and the input by touch on thedisplay portion 802 is not performed for a certain period, the screenmode may be controlled so as to be changed from the input mode to thedisplay mode.

The display portion 802 can function as an image sensor. For example, animage of a palm print, a fingerprint, or the like is taken with thedisplay portion 802 touched with the palm or the finger, wherebypersonal authentication can be performed. Further, when a backlight or asensing light source which emits near-infrared light is provided in thedisplay portion, an image of a finger vein, a palm vein, or the like canbe taken.

FIG. 14B shows the mobile phone 800 that is bent. When the whole mobilephone 800 is bent by the external force, the secondary battery 804included in the mobile phone 800 is also bent. FIG. 14C shows the bentsecondary battery 804. The secondary battery 804 is a secondary batterywith a layered structure.

FIG. 15A shows a smart watch. The smart watch can include a housing 702,a display panel 704, operation buttons 711 and 712, a connectionterminal 713, a band 721, a clasp 722, and so on. The use of thesecondary battery of one embodiment of the present invention in thesmart watch results in weight reduction. The secondary battery of oneembodiment of the present invention, described in Embodiment 1 or 2, maybe provided in the housing 702. As the secondary battery, a flexiblesecondary battery 740 of one embodiment of the present invention may beprovided in the band 721. The flexible secondary battery 740 may have aband-like shape and be attachable to and detachable from the housing702. Electric power can be supplied to the housing 702 through apositive electrode terminal 741 and a negative electrode terminal 742(see FIG. 15B).

The display panel 704 mounted in the housing 702 serving as a bezelincludes a non-rectangular display region. The display panel 704 candisplay an icon 705 indicating time, another icon 706, and the like.

The smart watch in FIGS. 15A and 15B can have a variety of functions,for example, a function of displaying a variety of information (e.g., astill image, a moving image, and a text image) on a display portion, atouch panel function, a function of displaying a calendar, date, time,and the like, a function of controlling processing with a variety ofsoftware (programs), a wireless communication function, a function ofbeing connected to a variety of computer networks with a wirelesscommunication function, a function of transmitting and receiving avariety of data with a wireless communication function, and a functionof reading program or data stored in a recording medium and displayingthe program or data on a display portion.

The housing 702 can include a speaker, a sensor (a sensor having afunction of measuring force, displacement, position, speed,acceleration, angular velocity, rotational frequency, distance, light,liquid, magnetism, temperature, chemical substance, sound, time,hardness, electric field, current, voltage, electric power, radiation,flow rate, humidity, gradient, oscillation, odor, or infrared rays), amicrophone, and the like.

FIG. 14D shows an example of a bangle display device. A portable displaydevice 7100 includes a housing 7101, a display portion 7102, anoperation button 7103, and a secondary battery 7104. FIG. 14Eillustrates the bent secondary battery 7104.

FIG. 14F shows an example of an armband display device. An armbanddisplay device 7200 includes a housing 7201 and a display portion 7202.Although not shown, a flexible secondary battery is included in thearmband display device 7200. The flexible secondary battery changes inshape in accordance with change in the shape of the armband displaydevice 7200.

Note that the structure and the like described in this embodiment can beused as appropriate in combination with any of the structures and thelike in the other embodiments.

This application is based on Japanese Patent Application serial no.2013-251175 filed with Japan Patent Office on Dec. 4, 2013, the entirecontents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

What is claimed is:
 1. A power storage device comprising: a positiveelectrode; a negative electrode; an electrolyte; and an exterior bodythat encloses the positive electrode, the negative electrode, and theelectrolyte, the exterior body comprising: a first region having acurved shape, a wavy line shape, an arc shape, or a shape with aplurality of inflection points; and a second region having the sameshape as the first region, wherein the first region and the secondregion are in contact with each other.
 2. The power storage deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein the power storage device is flexible. 3.The power storage device according to claim 1, wherein the electrolytecomprises an electrolyte solution.
 4. The power storage device accordingto claim 1, wherein the electrolyte comprises a gelled high-molecularmaterial.
 5. The power storage device according to claim 1, wherein thefirst region has a shape with a plurality of arcs and a plurality ofinflection points.
 6. The power storage device according to claim 1,wherein the exterior body comprises a polymer film.
 7. An electronicdevice comprising the power storage device according to claim
 1. 8. Apower storage device comprising: a positive electrode; a negativeelectrode; an electrolyte; and an exterior body that encloses thepositive electrode, the negative electrode, and the electrolyte, theexterior body comprising: a sealing portion having a curved shape, awavy line shape, an arc shape, or a shape with a plurality of inflectionpoints.
 9. The power storage device according to claim 8, wherein thesealing portion is flexible.
 10. The power storage device according toclaim 8, wherein the electrolyte comprises an electrolyte solution. 11.The power storage device according to claim 8, wherein the electrolytecomprises a gelled high-molecular material.
 12. The power storage deviceaccording to claim 8, wherein the sealing portion has a shape with aplurality of arcs and a plurality of inflection points.
 13. The powerstorage device according to claim 8, wherein the sealing portion has ashape without a straight line.
 14. The power storage device according toclaim 8, wherein the exterior body comprises a polymer film.
 15. Anelectronic device comprising the power storage device according to claim8.
 16. A power storage device comprising: a positive electrode; anegative electrode; an electrolyte; and an exterior body that enclosesthe positive electrode, the negative electrode, and the electrolyte,comprising: a sealing portion having a curved shape, a wavy line shape,an arc shape, or a shape with a plurality of inflection points, whereinthe power storage device is flexible.
 17. The power storage deviceaccording to claim 16, wherein the electrolyte comprises an electrolytesolution.
 18. The power storage device according to claim 16, whereinthe electrolyte comprises a gelled high-molecular material.
 19. Thepower storage device according to claim 16, wherein the sealing portionhas a shape with a plurality of arcs and a plurality of inflectionpoints.
 20. An electronic device comprising the power storage deviceaccording to claim 16.